Ilaria Rosella Pagliaro A flexible prototype developed by the University of Washington is capable of transforming body heat into energy, powering small electronic devices
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Thanks to our favorite fitness trackers and smartwatches, we are used to tracking every heartbeat, every step, or every calorie ever burned. There is, however, one small yet well-known inconvenience: having to constantly recharge them. And when that battery runs out, so do the good times of continuous tracking-and most importantly, that satisfaction. But what if we told you that soon you may not need to charge these devices ever again? Yes, you heard it right. In the near future, wearables might power up from your own body heat.
And that’s where a team of engineers at the University of Washington just created a prototype that may be only that game-changer. The device is flexible, ultra-resilient, and turns body heat into electricity to power small gadgets such as sensors, LEDs, and-believe it or not-even batteries. Think this invention works only under ideal conditions? Think again! It keeps on trucking even if its punctured or stretched up to a whopping 2,000 times.
How does it work?
As the head of the project, Professor Mohammad Malakooti describes:
“I have always envisioned a future wherein one could power an electronic device just with one’s own body heat. Well, that future is finally here.”
Just apply this device to your skin, and voilà! Energy flows directly into your gadget. Like hi-tech magic.
Unlike the more common thermoelectric devices-which are rigid and fragile, for that matter-the prototype developed at UW is highly flexible and soft. Therefore, it can fit easily on any surface, your arm for example.
It consists of three main layers, starting with a core of rigid semiconductors that generate energy from heat. Surrounding the semiconductors are 3D-printed materials with low thermal conductivity that help generate energy and keep the overall weight down. Holding it all together, traces of liquid metal provide the necessary flexibility to keep the device working-even allowing it to self-repair if damaged.
Not just for fitness trackers
But think again: that’s not all. “But don’t assume the wearables are just where this is going to stop,” Malakooti said. In fact, he thinks this technology could find wide use in all industries. Take data centers, for instance, which run enough machines to consume huge amounts of energy cooling them down. Now, here is something brilliant: attach these devices to servers, have them convert the heat into electricity, reduce overall energy consumption, and have a self-perpetuating system for monitoring temperature and humidity. Energy, basically, would recycle itself.
For those into fantastic futures, this can even work the other way round: heating or cooling surfaces by the application of electricity. Alright, so who knows, we may wear our virtual suit one day that sends us sensations of hot or cold while continuing with virtual reality. Ok, maybe that’s a bit far-fetched, but it’s certainly not an idea to dismiss altogether.
